The move follows last year’s rebranding of markets in Michigan and Wisconsin and reflects the nation’s largest Catholic healthcare company’s unification of diverse brands as well as its transition from holding company to operating company model.
St. Louis-based Ascension announced it will rebrand under the Ascension brand six of its markets that have been known locally for years by other names.
The hospitals and other sites of care that will take on the Ascension identity are:
- Texas: Seton in the Austin region and Providence in Waco
- Gulf Coast: Sacred Heart in the Pensacola, Florida, region and Providence in Mobile, Alabama
- Binghamton, New York: Lourdes
- Birmingham, Alabama: St. Vincent’s
- Jacksonville, Florida: St. Vincent’s
- Kansas: Via Christi in Wichita and central Kansas
The brand strategy helps unify the affiliation of the various regions and the health systems within them, according to Ascension executives. The company began this move last year in Michigan with six previously distinct health systems, and in Wisconsin, with four, that were brought under the Ascension brand.
“Our brand identity is rooted in our mission to deliver compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable,” said Anthony R. Tersigni, Ascension’s president and CEO, in a press release. “The adoption of a consistent identity across our systems of care fosters collaboration and ultimately ensures our patients receive the right care in the right setting at the right time through a truly integrated national system.”
Beyond the unified identity, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Nick Ragone said that a consistent brand makes it easier for consumers to navigate sites of care both physically and online, where most healthcare engagements now begin. He added that Ascension’s unified identity supports its shift to a more quantitative marketing model that helps the health system better understand patients and anticipate their needs.
Patricia A. Maryland, president and CEO of Ascension’s Healthcare division, its patient care arm, said the rebranding supports the creation of a culture of clinical excellence and safety, adding that the it also encourages collaboration across Ascension’s systems of care to improve population health and eliminate healthcare disparities.
Ascension’s Healthcare Division operates 2,500 sites of care, including 141 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities, in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
Philip Betbeze is the senior leadership editor at HealthLeaders.